Sutcliffe is primarily a figurative painter known for a hyper-realistic approach to portraiture and still life. His early practice was heavily influenced by the work of Lucian Freud, specifically Freud's detailed, forensic examination of flesh and form. Sutcliffe initially adopted a similarly rigorous, "warts-and-all" approach to his subjects, aiming to capture "every last detail" of the sitter's physical appearance. However, his style later evolved away from the impasto and heavy layering associated with Freud. He began to favour a flatter, cleaner aesthetic, often isolating subjects against neutral or negative space to focus attention purely on the figure. This shift coincided with a change in medium; while he previously worked with egg tempera—a classical medium known for its durability and matte finish—he transitioned to using acrylics to achieve greater immediacy and clarity in his work. Conceptually, Sutcliffe often explores themes of mimicry and reproduction. This is most evident in his 2014 project involving art forger
John Myatt, where Sutcliffe experimented with the distortion of images and the outsourcing of painting labour to question the nature of authenticity in portraiture. Despite these conceptual experiments, he maintains that his core practice is rooted in "simple observation" and the technical discipline of recording visual reality. ==Notable works==